Cesaria Evora

The undisputed empress of the worldbeat charts, two-time Grammy nominee, Cesaria Evora has truly earned those frequent comparisons to Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday. Hailing from Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of West Africa, Evora sings in the traditional morna style, which is like Portuguese fado filtered through the rhythms of Brazil and Africa. Discovered in her mid-40s by a French producer, Cesaria has gone on to make nine records, including her latest, So Vincente- earning fans world-wide with her warm and earthy contralto as she sings in Cape Verdean Creole about love, loss, and longing. The 'barefoot diva' is finally making her muchdelayed debut in Victoria with her seven-member band including Fernando Jose Andrade piano, Domingos Antonio Gornes Fernandes saxophone, Joao Jose de Pina Alves guitar, Virgilio Julio Duarte bass, Antonio Pina Alves cavaquinho, Ademiro Jose Paris Miranda percussion and Julian Corrales Subida violin. Don't even think about missing this one! "Evora stunned audiences by singing with a swooning pain and passion that calls to mind ... the sort of deep-river blues and exacting nuances that echo Billie Holiday. " -- New York Post